LEXINGTON – A former nurse at the federal prison in Lexington has been sentenced for smuggling tobacco into the prison, in exchange for payments from inmates.
On Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Danny Reeves sentenced 47 year-old Michael Hardin, formerly employed as a registered nurse at the Federal Medical Center in Lexington, to twelve months in prison, for bribery of a public official. Under federal law, Hardin must serve the entire term of his sentence; and at the conclusion of his incarceration, he must serve one year of home detention. Hardin will also be required to complete 400 hours of community service during his three-year term of supervised release.
According to his plea agreement, from July 2014 to August 2015, Hardin smuggled tobacco into the prison facility for inmates, who paid him a total of $22,429 in return. The inmates used family members and friends to send the money to Hardin. As a condition of his plea agreement, Hardin repaid all the money he received.
Prisoners incarcerated in federal correctional facilities, including FMC Lexington, are prohibited from possessing contraband, such as tobacco.
Kerry B. Harvey, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky; John F. Oleskowicz, Special Agent in Charge, Department of Justice, Office of the Inspector General, Chicago Field Office; Tommy D. Coke, Inspector in Charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service; Pittsburg Division; and Howard S. Marshall, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, jointly made the announcement.
The investigation was conducted by the Department of Justice, Office of the Inspector General; the Federal Bureau of Investigation; and the United States Postal Inspection Service. Assistant U.S. Attorney Andy Smith prosecuted this case on behalf of the federal government.